Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari – 09

Due to the accidental cursing of Raphtalia, Naofumi’s decided that the only course of action is to head to the capitol for the holiest water money can buy. And so, after once again reminding the villagers that he is not a savior – saviors don’t get paid for their efforts and he fully expects the wages he’s owed when he returns – the intrepid trio took to the roads. On the way, they ran into a

young girl playing with filorials in a field. As it turns out, she’s something of a fantasy ostrich-lover, and her earnestness and enthusiasm quickly win over Filo. Naofumi, of course, doesn’t want to deal with the trouble bringing a noble’s young daughter to the capitol with his tarnished reputation will bring, but he’s ultimately cajoled by three pairs of puppy-dog eyes into bringing her along. Naturally, this leads to trouble.

Before we get started, let’s welcome Melty (Maaya Uchida) to the cast. Uchida’s voice conveys the clarity of an innocent young girl, along with the regality that comes from taking one’s responsibilities seriously, without missing a beat. I’m truly looking forward to seeing how this character will demonstrate her vocal range in the future. And being that Melty is Myne’s younger sister, I suspect there will be plenty of opportunities forthcoming. On that note, while the action scenes, drama, and political intrigue are doubtlessly captivating, I could honestly watch Melty and Filo fooling around all day. In fact, where’s my spin-off about Naofumi learning how to fish?

Hijinks in this episode were top notch. The jokes didn’t feel forced in the slightest, as Filo noting glibly that the filorials look yummy, Naofumi suggesting they cover up the crime when assuming that Filo ate Melty, and Filo once again kicking Motoyasu in a very special place, were all blessedly in-character and hysterical. Something about Naofumi’s deadpan reaction to all the craziness going on in his life was just icing on the cake.

Besides Melty, we were also introduced to a sanctimonious pope, a young knight, and a figure in the shadows. In most of the shows I’ve seen, those who try to endear themselves to the hero by, for example, shaming a nun who tried to rip them off, are usually up to no good, and I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him. The knight, on the other hand, I would trust with watering my bonsai. He’d probably do a better job of it than I am. And as for the masked figure in the shadows… While at first I assumed she was following Melty as a stealth bodyguard, now I’m not so sure. After all, that’s what we’re supposed to think, right? Maybe she’s actually there to keep an eye on Naofumi. Well, whoever she is or wherever she came from, Naofumi better keep his guard up.

Kind of like how Motoyasu is. I have to admit, Motoyasu came in like a wrecking ball this episode and I loved every minute of it. He’s such a flawed yet unfailingly entertaining character. Not to mention his inner compass must point to Naofumi at all times. This time, his beef with Naofumi was regarding the beautiful winged Filo-chan. Unfortunately, this happens to be another case where the damsel he’s set his eyes on doesn’t need or want saving. Truly, Motoyasu has no luck with women. This episode also marked the first time someone made him realize the error of his impulsive actions, though only time will tell if that awareness will stick. Myne, on the other hand, shows no sign of changing her behavior. Given the division of guards between her and her sister, it certainly does seem like there is some contention in the royal family. The question is – How far would Myne go to secure her throne?

Let me just say that Kevin Penkin is doing a fantastic job as this series’ composer. The musical accompaniment chosen for the montage scenes were upbeat and bouncy, with what sounded to me like Celtic influence, and it elevated what could have been a slideshow of static images to a poignant sequence of bonding.

Week after week, these characters grow and change, and mostly for the better. Throughout their travels, Naofumi had time to learn more about where his strengths lay, and has placed more faith in his comrades as a result. With Myne back in his midst, however, and Melty, though clearly not as bad as her sister, requesting his aid, it’s about time to see whether he will choose to keep moving forward, or whether old grudges and hurts will continue to harden his heart.

The young knight, as well the older one with the scar on his face, belonged both to the group that stayed with Naofumi during the first wave.
I liked the detail that the scarred knight let out this small, annoyed sigh before he obeyed Myne’s order.

That really was good attention to detail. He also pulled his helmet down as though ashamed when the young knight stared at him, and considering how uncomfortable the knights on Myne’s side look, if it came down to an outright feud for the throne, my money’s on Melty.

no contest really, Melty is official heir to throne , has popular support as well as military (knights)… Myne is trying to get Hero support but she has chosen definitely wrong one… ironically, if she actually supported Nafoumi honestly she might had a chance

That would have been an excellent question to ask. Still, I don’t think even the pope would want to openly defy the king by challenging him in front of the populace, which was what pointing out Myne’s cheating would have basically amounted to. Also, he’s suuuper shady

As much as it stings for everyone else involved, I liked how Naofumi told Melty to shove it at the end. He has absolutely no reason to trust anyone in her family after what her father and sister have done to him, and she’s already lied to him once. Even if it makes sense why she hid who she was(a heir to the thrown without guards? Hello, ransom!) and even after she put Myne and Motoyasu in their place, it would’ve felt cheap for that to be all it took for Naofumi to think she’s definitely different. Full-blown hate doesn’t work like that.

He’s got a much better reason to warm up to the rookie knight, since the kid not only made a smart call about the duel(making him one of the few knights we’ve seen with a brain) he also went against three people with a hell of a lot more power than him. I won’t call him spunky, but he’s got potential!

Lastly, does Myne just walk around with royal decrees for duels between Motoyasu and Naofumi in her pocket or something? Makes it pretty obvious that she’s the one with the real issues here.

I thought the whole ‘decree’ thing was pretty silly and unnecessary. Lots of this stuff is pompous windbaggery but this moment was loaded with it. And of course, Melty didn’t require a counter-decree to de-authorise it. She just dismissed it outright.

I was amused with how while Motoyasu claims to adore all these young females, he is dismissive when Naofumi assumes he’s speaking of Raphtalia. She was yesterday’s girl.

And his line to Filo-chan was pretty good: Naofumi is working you like a horse.

If Myne is planning on turning him into a prince, she best find him a better codpiece.

I know what you mean in a way. But I honestly hated it. It just made him seem incredibly childish. He walked all the way to the shop, stood there while a few sentences were said, and then decided he wasn’t listening. I’m sorry but…what? He’s wasting his time, her time and the shop owners time. Nothing she said was something he didn’t already know before walking off to have that chat.

It makes me feel bad for Melt who again is left having to be the adult in a conversation. Going from dealing with her horrible older sister to a grumpy shield hero.

I know what you mean in a way. But I honestly hated it. It just made him seem incredibly childish. He walked all the way to the shop, stood there while a few sentences were said, and then decided he wasn’t listening. I’m sorry but…what? He’s wasting his time, her time and the shop owners time. Nothing she said was something he didn’t already know before walking off to have that chat.

Pretty sure that’s a Japanese thing. Watch any show taking place at school, where A needs to talk to B, and what happens? They make the request in the hallway, and go to an empty classroom, or make the request in class, and go talk behind the school buildings, or ask in the front lawn, and have the conversation on the school roof. It’s pretty common for me to ask myself, “Why the heck did you need to walk clear across the campus to have a conversation? He was already right there! Just talk!”

So no, I don’t think it was ‘childish’. It was just him following this weird protocol where the conversation can’t happen wherever you’re at. It has to be some neutral/safe/isolated location.

I wouldn’t disagree with you too much on the melty thing but he was a bit harsh taking into consideration the time they spent together (yes Myne spent time with him as well and burnt him but still…he must have some degree of gut feeling)…Most he should have done was respectfully decline.

On the topic of Myne and her duel docs…I am more curious how she knows where naofumi is everytime he enters the capital and running randomly through the streets. How did she find him? Tracker spell?

Naofumi doesn’t trust Melty, and I can understand since she is the daughter of the King and Queen he has resentment since Malty to advantage of him. Let’s not forget how all nobles treat Naofumi like dirt and the nun in the church gave Naofumi crude holy water when he asked for the best holy water; willing to pay a gold piece for it. Sure I won’t say the Bishop didn’t have his own opinions on Naofumi but at least he was willing to provide what what the Sheild Hero wanted without passing judgment whild doing so.

Actually the was the full-on Pope, and as Naofumi has noted, his holy weapon is the only one not worshiped at the church. The three spires, the religious symbol(which can be seen as a bow, sword, or spear), how the clergy treat him… the disdain is obvious, even if we haven’t gotten a real reason yet.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way as all the heroes get teleported to the point of invasion and have to fight to defend their lives if not the ppl around them so he still needs a way to fight and that means a team. Can’t do it alone. If the others die…the minions come after him.

Funniest part was his initial impression that Filo ate her –
let’s hide the evidence had me roaring with laughter.

I like how the weapons shop guy thinks Naofumi is like the
biggest lolicon in their world — of course the funniest thing
is that Spear Hero is certified in that regard, and no one
seems to even bat an eye.

This was a solid episode (the last 3/4 were all good, IMHO)
and can’t wait to see what happens next.

I just like how the blacksmith has become a recurring character and a confidant of Naofumi.

Also since we’re returning to the main plot, I’m calling it, the bow hero is likely mind controlled and will appear near the end of this season. It just seems weird it hasn’t been seen or heard of what he has been doing, also considering he has no strong reasons to fight Naofumi (the sword hero seems likely to fall to corruption with fighting nature it has), it seems he would need to be forced by someone to battle him.

We haven’t seen the Bow Hero since after the 1st Invasion court, so I’m hopeful he’s actually leveling up and not being a jerk like the other two weapon Heroes.

What we’re really missing is the possible teamwork between all the Heroes. Sure, a sword is good, a spear is good, a bow-and-arrow is good, a shield is good. We have virtually no idea how the other weapons “power up” like Naofumi’s shield. I can think in D&D terms for additional powers, spell adds, etc on the weapons, but imagine Naofumi actually using his shield in conjunction with the other Heroes. Naofumi actually has some attacks with his shield now (Dog Shield, cursed flames), are the other weapons getting defensive powers?

To me, seeing the spear hero is now saddening, because he is pretty much the clown where the plot will shit on to make Naofumi stand out with his harem. I don’t think his character will grow, I think it will be stale or become worse.
I see this in a lot of harems, other guys are inexistent or total shit as not to threat the MC.

I may don’t know the full details of the original novel, but it easy to say if the novelist rewrite the spin offs and see my view. The kingdom is doom from the start, the world cannot be saved by just four random people, but a civil war.

I believe that what she and Melty are carrying around are described as proof of identity that are probably magically enchanted to prove that they are in fact the first and second princesses. After all, how many people are going to know them on sight? Especially since Myne is actually supposed to be ‘in disguise’ as an adventurer.

But yeah, the King has serious issues – but Myne is villainous in her behavior, and outright works to sabotage Naofumi whenever possible. Show Spoiler ▼

Not to mention that her visible sabotage of Naofumi is also sabotaging the four heroes in general – look at all the damage Motoyasu did during this fight.

and this is why i have my problem with this anime. only this one Hero here is acting like an Hero.. an grumpy Hero but care for others. and the others are just selfish heroes only playing big when the “bells” ring and not caring about their actions.

it breaks inside me the “rule” of behaving like “Light” Heroes.. these 3 just cross the borders with full flags inside me, while the “shield” hero stays in the Gray area

also, it seems like the animators begin to draw in these categories, too.. see how “simple” the spear hero face is drawn…

this anime is forcing its own rules of heroes down my trout, but i do not like it. Well i still do not choke from it.. but it is unpleasant

this is just an piece of my mind to this anime. please hold your comments

Well, you have to consider the fact that the other heroes didnt want to be heroes, they were summoned against their will, and have to put their lives at risk for people that they don’t know and/or don’t care about, they just want to go back to their own worlds. Motoyasu is the exception of those 3, since he’s being manipulated by Myne.
I think the other 3 look at is mostly like they are playing a videogame, they act as they want because the only thing that really matters is to get strong, defeat the final boss and possibly go back home (clear the game).

Well, if these are summoned Heroes from other worlds, then this Spear Hero was this simply, too? Just want to get praised for his own good… This one reminds me of someone…Gabimaru from Slime.. You know this Lizard prince, full of himself

Mmm well said and agree. They sure break the rules of a light heroes and the creators make this show unpleasant, especially the shield hero maybe the other three. Bad guys are terrible and grey side are the worst

It introduced something ‘shocking’ but since then, it’s been a non-issue. Nobody really cares about slavery in the world in general, and Naofumi’s participation is minimal. His slave had to twist his arm to re-do the magic ritual. If anything, that’s more scandalous than his own behaviour. He isn’t buying and selling slaves for profit, despite his evolution into a trader. He obviously isn’t abusing Raphtalia.

The main character is also supposed to be embittered and ruined. But for the most part, he’s a pretty decent guy who gets along well with most of the people in this world he ostensibly hates. Sure, he doesn’t like Myne but how is that reflected in his actions? She’s a lot more serious than he is, despite her being played mostly for laughs.

If he had actually turned into a hard man, concerned with his own well-being but not at all about the suffering of others, he wouldn’t be selling healthcare for promissory notes, he’d be trading in violence or slaves or something unsavoury but profitable. Or he’d drive much harder bargains for his plague cure. Or produce and sell drugs that had addictive properties. Or maybe even, say ‘no’.

And he certainly got along well enough with Melty until the last few frames. As someone mentioned above, he’s being churlish. Churlish does not equal bitter. If he really hates her family that much, why isn’t he trying to exploit her in some way?

There are many opportunities for him to play the part he’s ostensibly taken, but he doesn’t take them. I won’t say that the show’s become a light comedy but some of the themes that it introduced are getting superficial treatment.

Well I don’t like the main character development as well the story processing. Sure he been ripped off or betrayed, but the remain main character will just focus on being alone and help people from time to time without word. The rest is up to the people who wants a TRUE hero.
In a way in this path, he’ll become a villain.

I’ve always thought that a big part of the show was Naofumi’s duality. He starts off as the most trusting of the four heroes and the one the most likely to help someone just because, but then thinks he just got a hard lesson in how much this world sucks when Myne betrays him. So he tries to turn into an anti-hero just to survive, but then Raphtalia and Filo show him that the world really isn’t that horrible, so maybe he doesn’t have to be so afraid and guarded.

At his core, Naofumi’s actually a nice guy. He’s acquired some street smarts, but under that facade that’s what he is. The only major change was in his ability to trust others.

Considering he spent more quality time with Myne, I think it’s predictable that he’d shut Melty off before falling into the same hole. Can’t say he has any reason not to be weary of her. He still hasn’t fully trusted any personality assessment by his two companions after all.

Well his major changes sucks, if I were him in video game or real life, he’s choose to be a Batman persona guy or Gula guy. Til he gain his original personality again si5 evil look at asshole who trick him and keep his cool.

This reminds me of Kingdom Hearts Union, except all four heroes aren’t know at each other necks and started a war that end everything. As well no Master that given them roles to play and no neural member of the group either.
The Shiled Hero isn’t a Gula, but its a start.